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Bad leash behavior

We just got a 9 week old Boston Terrier pup a week ago. I'm having some difficulty with putting him on a leash. Once we put the leash on, he takes it in his mouth and thrashes around with it, like he's playing. I say "no, off" and take it out of his mouth (sometimes he won't release it at all and I have to gently open his mouth to remove it), but he just does it right over again. Also, if I can get him walking on the leash, I can't get him to stay on one side of me. He crosses over back and forth and I'm afraid I'm going to step on him. He also bites at the ankles of my pants when walking. Does anyone have any advice? I know he's just a puppy but I don't want him to carry these bad habits into adulthood. Thanks for your help.

He's a baby, this is very typical behavior of a puppy when they are learning to have a leash on their neck. Keep doing what your doing with the correction, he will in time stop once he used to the lead. Would love pics....boston babies are adorable.

People are like slinky's, not really good for much. But its still fun to push them down the stairs.

"Any tricks for getting him to walk on one side of me without crossing back and forth?"

Not really any tricks, just another skill that comes with time, lol. Once the pup is used to the leash being on him you can start using it to give gentle tugs to direct him where to walk, with that skill comes being able to keep him on one side of you by using the leash.

Gunny has a point too...their not so happy to chew the leash when it is a metal chain lead, lol.

People are like slinky's, not really good for much. But its still fun to push them down the stairs.

If when you're walking he's looking up at you while he's crossing over, gently bump him with the side of your leg (don't kick him! LOL) and keep walking. Tell him "heel" or another command that you're going to use when you're walking. After awhile he'll know that when you give that command you want him to straighten up and walk on his side. How he walks now is really no indication of how he'll walk later. He's just happy go lucky and isn't thinking about it; he hasn't had to before.

Join a puppy class ASAP. Corrections do not teach puppies anything that you want, training does. Carry treats with you, hold them down at his level on the left side. Start rewarding for walking on the right side(left). If he goes on the other side of you, lure him back, and when hes in the right place, reward him, talk to him. If hes mouthing the leash, stop and wait till he lets go and reward for not putting it in his mouth. If hes mouthing your pant letgs, stop walking, wait and reward when hes not doing it any more. All behavior molding takes time, when we use corrections, we sometimes don't relize the temperment damage we are doing, and the puppies don't understand what it is you are upset about.

Well yes, thank you for basically repeating my post(except the second part). Corrections are just unnecessary, no matter what they are consisting of. There is no need to push, pull, hit or anything like that. They are animals, they do not understand what it is that we want or why. My real point is some people do use harsh corrections, which teaches nothing, but that people are not to be trusted. Owners sometimes take advise and take it to the next level in my experience. If we avoid the correction route altogether, no harm is done.

mandyk, don't expect too much of your little guy at this age. He needs to get used to the harness and leash, and with perseverance, and age, he will be fine. Take it slowly, and practice in short increments at first, gradually increasing the time spent with the leash. Boston babies are famous for all the things you've mentiond! They get better.